By Michael Lindsay
The Cookeville Cavaliers returned from their bye week in style on Friday as they defeated Lincoln County 31-14 to improve to 7-1 overall.
“I thought we didn’t necessarily play well in certain places, but I was proud of the consistency and adjustments our defense made,” said Cookeville head coach Taylor Hennigan. “The plan coach Marcus Walls put in was big, and to just match their physicality; they’re big and have some big running backs.”
The Cavs used a balanced offensive effort as quarterback Blake Owen went 10-16 through the air for 180 yards and 2 touchdowns. Lukas Hardin hauled in 4 receptions for 77 yards and a touchdown.
“We hit some explosive passes,” said Hennigan. “I thought we were better at executing the easy underneath throws. I still think there’s room for improvement, though.”
Lincoln County struck first late in the opening quarter as the Falcons punched in a 1-yard touchdown rush on fourth and goal to take a 7-0 lead.
Cookeville answered on the first play of the second quarter as Owen connected with Hardin on an 18-yard touchdown pass to tie the game with 11:58 left until halftime.
The Cavs would go into the locker room with the lead as Alonzo Sanchez-Cantu hit a 15-yard field goal to give the Cavaliers a 10-7 advantage at halftime.
Cookeville wasted no time extending their lead in the second half as Owen hit Caden Sisco on a 68-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the third quarter to put the Cavs up 17-7.
The Cavaliers extended their lead to 24-7 with 3:13 left in the third quarter via a Thomas Johnson 3-yard touchdown rush.
Lincoln County cut their deficit to 10 points (24-14) with 6:13 remaining in the fourth quarter via a 25-yard touchdown pass.
The Falcons denied Cookeville at the goal line late in the fourth quarter, but the Cavalier defense stepped up on the ensuing drive as Keyli Davis returned a 20-yard pick-six for a touchdown to seal Cookeville’s 31-14 victory.
“We maybe called too much defense in the first half,” said Hennigan. “In the second half, we just said let’s line up and play. Our linebackers played phenomenal.”
The 7-1 Cavaliers travel to region 4-6A for Green Hill (8-0, 4-0) next week.
